Death Does Not Have the Final Word

Kim Wagner (far right) with the Battalion Search and Rescue team.

As the sun rises higher in the sky above us, I break out in a sweat hiking through a small patch of desert with my fellow Battalion Search and Rescue team members. The Battalion Search and Rescue is a team of volunteers who search the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico for the remains of people migrating to the United States. As I walk, my eyes are sweeping the ground around me – looking for anything stark white in the neutral desert landscape. Suddenly, I hear one of the team members call out, “I found something!” over our walkie-talkies. As I walk to where the team has gathered, I look down and come face-to-face with a large bone that appears to be a human femur. A pit forms in the bottom of my stomach, and a wave of different emotions washes over me.

Although this is my fifth search with the Battalion, scenes like these continue to weigh on me. This is one ministry I participate in where it can be easy to feel disheartened; How can we let these unnecessary and preventable deaths happen? There are times when this work can feel overwhelming and hopeless; times when it seems pointless to continue, given the fight we are up against. 

However, at this same search, we uncovered a folder of identity documents belonging to a woman migrating to the United States. Through the weather-beaten papers, we were able to identify this woman’s name and the country she was from. With this information, members of the Battalion reached out to the Office of the Medical Investigator, who were able to match the woman’s identity to DNA in their system. The Office then reached out to the country’s Consulate in order for them to get in touch with the woman’s family, meaning that there is a family that may finally obtain answers about their missing relative. 

In pits of seemingly endless despair, we can find footholds of hope to take hold of. In this ministry, we have the chance to honor these people lost to the desert as we work to dignify them even after death and hold those in power accountable for their roles in their deaths. Even in this heart wrenching work, we see love and mercy prevail. Through all of this, we remember that death does not have the final word. 

Question for Reflection: What is a “foothold of hope” that you’re holding onto during this season?

Photos from Kim Wagner from her service with the Battalion Search and Rescue.